SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION TO HOLD THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 9-19 FEBRUARY
Press Release
SOC/4482
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION TO HOLD THIRTY-SEVENTH SESSION AT HEADQUARTERS, 9-19 FEBRUARY
19990208 Background Release A review of efforts to reach the goal of access by all to basic social services and a review of progress made in the implementation of the outcome of the 1995 World Summit for Social Development will be the priority themes to be considered by the Commission for Social Development as it holds its thirty- seventh session at Headquarters from 9 to 19 February.One of the 10 commitments adopted by the Social Summit was to work to make basic social services available to all. Reports before the Commission's forthcoming session note progress in extending social services, particularly in terms of literacy and availability of basic education, but instances of setbacks or slow progress are also identified. For instance, a post-Social Summit trend towards higher social expenditure in Latin America has been interrupted in the past year, in concert with an economic downturn.
When considering the priority theme of social services for all, the 46- member Commission will also address the need to improve the quality of service, steps needed to ensure provider responsiveness to user needs and measures to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of services. It will also consider the specific topics from a gender perspective.
The Commission will review a preliminary assessment of achievement and constraints on the implementation of the commitments made at the Social Summit, and will begin the process of identifying further initiatives for consideration by the Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly on the Implementation of the Outcome of the World Summit for Social Development and Further Initiatives.
Moreover, the Commission will consider issues pertaining to ageing, in particular, the International Year of Older Persons (1999), and will have before it the outcome of the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth, held in Lisbon last year.
The Commission will conduct its work through general discussions, dialogue-format sessions and panel discussions. Several parallel events are scheduled to held, including a two-day conference on "Caring Communities for
the 21st Century", in celebration of the International Year of Older Persons, and an international videoconference on ageing.
The Commission will also hear presentations from Federico Mayor, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and Carol Bellamy, the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The Commission was established by the Economic and Social Council to advise it on social policies of a general character, social aspects of development and on all matters in the social field not covered by the specialized intergovernmental agencies. It focuses on policies designed to promote social progress, setting goals, programme priorities and research in areas affecting social and economic development. In 1997 it was assigned primary responsibility for follow-up to the 1995 Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development.
The provisional agenda for the forthcoming session is contained in document E/CN.5/1999/1.
Highlights of documents before the session follow.
A report of the Secretary-General on social services for all (document E/CN.5/1999/2) sets out suggestions and ideas to assist the Commission in formulating its recommendations to advance the implementation of the Copenhagen Programme of Action as it relates to basic social services. Addressing the question of social service availability and coverage, the report says that to meet needs more effectively and efficiently, appropriate mechanisms must be developed at the national and local levels in which all interested groups are represented, and where priorities can be fully debated, major differences in perspectives reconciled and the divergent needs of users and providers harmonized.
The contributions of the voluntary and non-governmental sectors should be encouraged and facilitated through appropriate public policy in a spirit of partnership, the report states. It is also important that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) be held accountable. Addressing the issue of resources and their effectiveness, the report states that there is a need to recognize that resources encompass also the resources of the private sector, and those of the not-for-profit and voluntary sector. Policies need to be developed that allow all those resources to be effectively mobilized and deployed.
The report stresses that it is essential to give priority to improving access to information for all. Multiple channels of information will reach the largest audience. Support should be given to maintaining such organizations as citizens' advice bureaus, referral agencies and users' and
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consumers' rights organizations -- those can be effective in facilitating access and disseminating user-friendly information. The report also recommends that cooperation among countries should be based on genuine partnership, reflecting the principles of equality and justice and a shared concern for access by all citizens to quality basic social services.
A note by the Secretary-General transmits the report of the expert workshop on innovations in the delivery and financing of social services, held at United Nations Headquarters from 13 to 16 October 1998 (document E/CN.5/1999/7). The report states that while governments committed themselves to implementing far-reaching programmes of social development to improve the lives of people in all parts of the world at the World Summit for Social Development, it is evident that progress towards that end has been at best modest. The overall situation with respect to the availability and quality of social services has changed little and in fact, has regressed visibly in specific ways. The report, however, highlights some positive initiatives being undertaken in the spirit of the Social Summit such as: participation by users of services in deciding what is provided and how; resources mobilization; and allocation and availability of and access to information.
The report also lists several factors which have emerged to challenge the provision of social services. These are: rapid urbanization; population ageing; epidemiological profile; new technologies; globalization; disruptions and dislocations caused by war; environmental degradation; democracy; state reform; and promotion of primary services and prevention strategies. The report also examines mechanisms of service deliveries and provides an analysis of information and resources, addressing issues such as mobilization, allocation and effective use, as well as external resources.
Another note by the Secretary-General transmits the report of the workshop on ensuring access to social services of under-served populations, held at Bangkok from 2 to 6 November (document E/CN.5/1999/6). According to the report, while efforts are being made to expand the range and coverage of services, millions remain unreached or under-served. Apart from the usual factors, such as the lack of resources or insufficient priority for social programmes, perhaps the single most important factor was the failure to devise mechanisms and processes that could merge the different interests of providers and users. Social services include basic necessities and their success is measured by the extent to which they are utilized to meet recognized individual and community requirements.
According to the report, it is not possible to identify or list definitive groups as always constituting the under-served. In any society, the under-served is likely to consist of different people with different needs and service requirements. Also, people may have similar needs but encounter unequal access and quality of services. However, certain groups tend to
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suffer the brunt of discrimination in many societies, and that would include being under-served in the provision of social services. People living in poverty are the most likely to be under-served. Other areas addressed in the report include enhancing service delivery, building partnerships, and international factors and external influences that affect the provision of social services.
A report of the Secretary-General on further initiatives for the implementation of the outcome of the Social Summit (document E/CN.5/1999/3) states that in the context of its review of the implementation of the Summit's outcome and in accordance with its multi-year programme of work and the agenda for the thirty-seventh session, as approved by the Economic and Social Council, the Commission will consider two priority themes in 1999: social services for all; and initiation of the overall review of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit.
The report contains a proposal on further initiatives to be addressed by the special session of the Assembly on the implementation of the outcome of the Summit and further initiatives. It consists of three main sections. The introduction describes the criteria for selection of the issues. Sections I to X describe possible issues under each of the 10 commitments adopted at the Summit. The conclusion emphasizes that proposals are preliminary in nature and that, presently, there is a need to identify priorities and to mandate the elaboration of few specific initiatives.
The report of the Secretary-General on the preliminary assessment of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development (document E/CN.5/1999/4) states that at the Summit, governments adopted the Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the Programme of Action of the World Summit for Social Development, and identified the eradication of poverty, the achievement of full employment and the promotion of secure, stable and just societies as priority goals. In December 1995, the Assembly decided to hold a special session in the year 2000 for an overall review and appraisal of the implementation of the Summit and to consider further actions and initiatives. In November 1997, the Assembly established a Preparatory Committee to decide on the process to be followed to achieve the purposes of the special session.
The report goes on to say that at its organizational session in May 1998, the Committee requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its first substantive session a report on the implementation of the 10 commitments contained in the Declaration. The present report responds to that request, and is submitted to the Committee through the Commission. In the context of its review of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit and in accordance with its multi-year programme of work and the agenda for its thirty-seventh session as approved by the Council, the Commission will
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consider "initiation of the overall review of the implementation of the outcome of the Summit" as one of its priority themes for 1999.
The report of the Secretary-General on status and role of cooperatives in the light of new economic and social trends (document A/54/57) states that in December 1996, the Assembly encouraged governments to keep the legal and administrative provisions governing the activities of cooperatives under review to ensure a supportive environment for cooperatives, so that they can make an appropriate contribution to the attainment of the goals of national development, including that of meeting the basic human needs of all. The Assembly also requested the Secretary-General to submit to it at its fifty- fourth session, through the Commission, a report containing information on legislative and administrative initiatives taken by countries. The present report conveys information received from 94 governmental agencies in 65 countries.
The report then details: legislation governing cooperatives; legislative and administrative initiatives taken in Western Europe, North America and Japan; legislative and administrative initiatives taken in countries in transition; legislative and administrative initiatives taken in Africa, Asia and Latin America; participation of the cooperative sector in reforming cooperative legislation; and attitudes to elaborating United Nations guidelines for the development of cooperatives. Annexed to the report are draft guidelines aimed at creating a supportive environment for the development of cooperatives.
A note by the Secretary-General on the International Year of Older Persons and follow-up arrangements (document E/CN.5/1999/8) includes suggestions for the development of a long-term perspective strategy on ageing into the twenty-first century; streamlining the review and appraisal of the International Plan of Action on Ageing; and the four General Assembly plenary meetings at its fifty-fourth session to be devoted to follow-up to the International Year of Older Persons. During the plenary meetings, Member States are expected to report on the national observance of the Year, discuss national policy approaches towards a society for all ages, and present best practices at the national and local levels.
The interim report of the Secretary-General on implementation of the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons (document E/CN.5/1999/5), prepared pursuant to Assembly resolution 52/82 of December 1997, emphasizes progress in the implementation of the text, in which key social and economic policy issues related to the equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities are identified -- accessibility, social services, social safety nets, employment and sustainable livelihoods. The note briefly reviews activities relating to the Asian and Pacific Decade of
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Disabled Persons (1993-2002) and progress in the implementation of its goal of full participation and equality of all persons with disabilities.
Many of the activities detailed in the report are of a pilot nature, and their further development will be considered in the Secretary-General's report, which will be submitted to the Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. Progress in activities that have recently been implemented will also be conveyed to the Assembly, as will the complex technical issues of statistics on persons with disabilities and accessibility at the United Nations.
The report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond (document A/54/59) reviews its implementation and also takes into account the youth-related concerns and relevant follow-up action of other programmes of actions adopted by nine world conferences convened by the United Nations since 1992. It details, among other things, priority youth issues for the twenty-first century. Annexed to the report is the status of implementation of national youth policies, coordination mechanism and programmes of action as at July 1998.
Membership
Following is the Commission's current membership: Algeria, Argentina, Belarus, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Guinea, Haiti, India, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Malawi, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United States and Venezuela.
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